Our Plan
To create a community mural on two sides of the bathhouse. We’re proposing a simple color palette with large sections that can be painted mostly by community members regardless of artistic background. It is our intention to create a simple public art installation with a welcoming feel that is pleasing to the eye and neatly finished.
Thanks to all those who filled out our survey in early March!
Our Timeline & Process
A call for volunteers went out in December and the “mural dream team” of District 7 residents was formed including professional designers, educators, mothers, artists, and frequent Learned Pond Beach visitors.
Anna Gilbert, Amanda Montero, Sheryl Quesnel, Ashley Welch, Jana Wolfer, and Jeanine Zurkus are developing and guiding the process.
March was the month of gathering and sharing ideas. Our first survey, aiming to get initial thoughts on themes and engagement opportunities was open for almost two weeks and received 20 responses, 13 of whom said they would be interested in painting.
We created this depiction of the words most often used by residents to describe themes and idea they would like to see in the mural. The larger the words, the more often they were included in responses.
I have reached out to the Framingham History Center to learn more about all the people who have lived in this area over the years and think about how we can integrate that history in our present community project. The mural dream team refined some concept designs and shared them with neighbors who will see the mural on a daily basis year round. There was a clear fan favorite with a design that depicts the Great Blue Heron that lives at Learned Pond and includes a soft color palette that highlights themes of nature, joy, community, and peace. This is the proposed design:
Tuesday April 9th – We presented to the City’s Parks and Recreation Commission to review the process and design. Here’s the powerpoint presentation we did. You can watch the video of the 25 minute presentation here.
Late April and May- Parks and Recreation Department will be cleaning and preparing the building.
Wednesday May 8th at 6:00pm is the 3rd annual Learned Pond Beach pre-season neighborhood meeting where neighbors again had the opportunity to view and discuss the project and the design.
June 1 we painted! Here are some photos of the amazing day: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBtXbf thanks to all those who came out to paint with us.
Thank you to Avidia Bank and the Framingham Cultural Council for their donations to this project!
